I am NOT a nerd! (I think)

The current wallpaper for my desktop. What do you think?

—

Phew! Its been a busy week for me. The due date for the submition of the annual report is coming near and I’m been up on my toes trying to complete it, on top of the other ad-hoc duties that I was expected to do. That is what makes work interesting and challenging, I guess. A hint of adrenaline too. I like the rush, but not too much!

Anyways on with the topic(s) of the day. I was going back home after my night class with a classmate, Kelly was her name. We happened to take the same train together that night. And she told me about her accident that happened to her recently.

“You know that community center near our school? Cairnhill Community Club?”

Yeah?

“I was in one of the cafe there, and I fell asleep with my bag still slung to me. And when I was sleeping, I thought someone brushed against my bag. And when I woke up, I found my handphone missing!”

Oh my! How daring! I would understand it, if you left it on the table, that would be carelessness. But it was still in your bag! My goodness!

“Yes! And I reported it to the manager, and he said that it was very frequent there. I went to the police after that, and they didnt even want to take down the report initially because it was a ‘small thing’. It isnt missing the phone, but the inconvenience of it all. Mr Chako (Our GP teacher) lost his too while it was still in his pocket”

Thieves are extremely daring nowadays. I read that phone thefts are quite frequent in the Tampines and the central area. The fact that there are many second hand mobile phone shops that doesnt require you to show any identification when you are selling your phones makes it all the more easier for thieves and more difficult to track.

And what can we do about it?

I read somewhere that there is a code which we could use for our mobile phone. You press in *#06# and you will see a 15 digit number. This is an IMEI code. You could report the theft to your subscription line to make your phone invalid.

However, I emailed a query with M1, Singtel and Starhub with my concerns about mobile theft.So far, I havent received any replies from Starhub. But I did receive a phone reply by Singtel and an email reply from M1. And here is what they had to say.

M1
* they are not able to trace or block customers number
* they will, however, suspend the phone line if requested
* will keep the line for 2 weeks before it being permanently disconnected

Singtel
* Does not have an active IMEI tracking system
* maintain the phone line for a month before being disconnected (if requested)
* charges for replacement sim card is waived
* if still on contract period, charges will be payable if contract is broken.

I think that sounds fair enough. Moral of the story is simply, to be very careful with your stuff I guess. No amount of IMEI or reporting will replace away the time and the worry of the inconvenience of a lost handphone.

—

And guess what? I fixed my compy! And all is all right with the world. I’ve speculated for the longest time that I was having problems with my powerbox. Even brought it down a few months ago to the computer repair shop that was nearby my home. And he insisted that the powerbox was running fine.

And after complaining to Clement, the technical assistant, where I worked at, for the upteempth time, he offered to check my computer for me. And as soon as I lugged my computer for him to see, a few minutes after, he told me. Its your power supply for sure. See? The fan isnt spinning much, thats a sure sign that the power supply is busted.

So all I have to do is to get a new power supply? Does the voltage matter? Is it hard to install? How about the cabling?

All power box is standard. Naah. You’ll be fine, its easy to install. Got to go check the server room now. See you latah!

So lunch time, I went off to Jurong Point to get me a new powerbox and spent a few minutes afterwards fiddling with the cabling.

I was a little hesitant to see so many wires.

But I looked at the old wires and unplugged that and put in the new ones in place, recognizing the different shapes of the wires. And then I booted up the computer. It worked!

And I went home, and left it running overnight while doing a defragment. And it was still running the next day! Wonderful! I feel so proud of myself. I fixed it myself! Me!

Still speaking of computers, I finally figured out how to make an ISO boot up disk that Krysss was talking about a few posts ago. Krysss saw that I was having problems with my computer and asked me to download a program that will allow me to go online, write stuff, do things, and even get files from your hard drive as he put it.

I’ve never made a ISO file before. But after a long while, did a little research and came across this site which shows me how to create a boot disk.

And after burning one, it started marvelously. Wonderful. The only thing is …

I miss my lcd screen … Donate to the Rinaz Foundation lah …

I dont understand a thing … I dont really have a programmers mind. What the heck are you talking about?

Oh well.

I heard that Geylang is closing down? Is that true? I heard that they are closing it down to upgrade it to a fully air conditioned place. But, why upgrade? As convenient it is, and as comfortable it is to upgrade, it’ll lose the wonderful old-style charm.

I mean, who can forget the sights of the bales of cloth as you walk across the narrow walkway, the faces of the shopsellers. The smell of the freshly made cakes as the hawkers chatter loudly to sell their wares. The squishing of the japanese slippers as you walk across the wet path. And the touch of the lovely colourful fresh fruits.

I wouldnt want for it to be replaced with the cold, modernity of an upgrade. Full of plastic, devoid of warmth. I’ll try to visit there again. Better visit there before it goes forever …